Zedroom: PbP Superstars (Inactive)

Game Master Wilmannator

Same thoughts from me. I think it's less about the campaign and more about the characters. I've always thought of pfs as like a weekly sitcom/drama. The individual stories are different and entertaining in their own way, but the common thread of character development and interaction that happens in the background is what makes it awesome. When you have a group like ours then we can use those interactions as well as the influences of the scenarios to give some spice and course correction to the character's overall story.

The storm in the throaty mermaid game didn't change Cyrus and Ibid's backstory, but it gave us a chance to throw done hints out and use the experience to color the relationship between the two characters.

One other thing I am excited about as we continue this story with everyone in this group is how we can incorporate everyone into the story as it moves forward. Amaranti, lort, miro, finarin, binaries, and even done of the less used characters like faustus can pay a role in how Cyrus chooses to deal with this. And none of it really has anything to do with any pfs scenario, except for how we let it color the ongoing story.

I kinda rambled there... Hopefully that was actually on topic and made sense... :)

Also really appreciate the kind words about our backstory John!

-Posted with Wayfinder

That was all a really long way to say yes, I think pfs can be just as good as an ap when you have the group of players that John is talking about, players that have similar styles and a desire to tell a story.

-Posted with Wayfinder

This busts my s%+# up.

I, too, have run into Iron Man. And he's one of the players that I would actively avoid playing with.

*sigh*

Of course, he probably feels the same about me. But he posted. He cared. He had a character...but yeah...

I love the feedback above and eagerly await Deussu's take on things. We can't make things better until we can figure out what's wrong.

On one hand, it's unfair to compare 'rookie league' PbP PFS to 'superstar' Zedroom PFS, but yeah...I need to know what makes one so much better than the other.

Wow, just wow. Did not expect that. Steve and Lockwood that was truly fantastic. The time to craft, the detail, the twist.

Painlord there were points when I was reading their story and I was like - 'Oh yeah, I remember that' and I clicked on the link and totally remembered the post. That shared experience makes such a difference.

Steve and Lockwood, thank you ever so much for including us. That was awesome.

Thanks for the kind words, dude. Steve and I had fun coming up with it. Originally we had no idea what actually happened in the mine/tomb, we just knew that something bad happened. But it was fun to write up, figure out a backstory, and, most importantly, hopefully it was not too much of a hassle for you all to slog through.

The reason we wrote this backstory is also the inline with some the preceding comments about PFS in general. We wanted to try and make a more cohesive story to tie the characters together, which for us made playing them much more fun, and since the scenarios would have a hard time doing that for us, we just went ahead and had a bunch of fun doing it ourselves.

Anyway, thanks again for all the kind words! And like Steve said, if anyone else wants to get down on the Cyrus/Ibid plot line moving forward, just let us know!

Finally got to finish Ibid & Cyrus backstory. Awesome, guys! Just awesome!

I don't have that much PBP outside this little group, so I can say most of my games are pretty good. On the other games I think I've seen the classic issues, "the one-sentence poster", "the disappearing GM" etc. I'm not usually bothered by one bad player, if the rest of the group carries the game.

What annoys me the most is when the game doesn't move on. In a couple of games I've had the situation that when the initiative (as in what to do, not the roll) is thrown to players, then nothing happens for weeks -and the whole game almost dies. (I was a player there, so I am as much to blame as anyone else). I'm not sure if it's the dynamics of pbp, but GM should be ready to push the game also in situations where players should decide in tabletop games.

Painlord, here goes.

A Some players, as stated before, post irregularly, and even then their posts contain little to no content. You can't continue on those, they don't pose questions that would require interaction; they are automatons tagging along to collect a chronicle. This, at least, is how it looks like to me.

B Such a little detail, but so irritating... names. Character names. Are most players really that unimaginative? I've seen Jarlaxle Baenre, which is a straight copypaste from R. A. Salvatore's famous novels. I've seen Michael J. Caboose, which was also a clone from a webcomic called Red vs. Blue. (I must admit I find his antics funny, but very unfitting to the Golarion theme. If other players and characters would be such caricatures as well, it wouldn't matter much.) Currently I'm playing in a game with a character named "Zorro the Swashbuckler". That Iron Man? Pass, I've seen a Finnish player play a weird ranger/wizard/eldritch knight/something that mimics Iron Man in a tasteful way. There are most likely some other examples as well, but none of them come to mind right now.

C Lack of hooks. The characters can't interact with each other, if there's never anything to react to. I've noticed the best way to create RP situations is to be create verbal conflicts, hence why nearly all my characters are grumpy, rude, and generally dislike all other pathfinder agents. Delzden is different because I noticed this pattern of hatred among my characters.

D Grammar and punctuation. I deliberately checked how you write stuff with quotes, how you place dots and commas, just so the text would be right. I don't mind people deviating from this slightly, but writing in lowercase, leaving out a dot from the end of a sentence, or infuriatingly replacing "you" with just "u".

E Sometimes it's the GM who's rushing it, leaving almost no time for RP. Like making multiple updates and driving the plot forward during weekend which commonly is quiet time due to family time and whatnot.

I must point out I'm not perfect myself; as a GM I still sometimes struggle to push the game onwards, in a weird way hoping for the players to start posting. In one instance I had a three-month long Core game, where I maybe needlessly waited for them to devise an elaborate plan. This resulted in two players not posting anything for two weeks, and when asked why not they said something in the line of "their characters had nothing to do so they opted to wait it out". To me it looked like they vanished completely.

Although no one really likes to be critiqued, it's the only way to get better. I'm unsure whether it's a cultural thing, but Americans tend to thank a lot regardless of the game's outcome. I could be wrong though, letting the general "stereotypicalization" flow through me.

EDIT: When it comes to style of play, I'm adaptive. I do like some serious gaming with no-nonsense and real emotions, but I also like light-hearted games that show the characters maybe even as ridiculous caricatures consisting of just one key characteristic. Problem is players rarely speak out about the style they prefer, they just all bunch up together and play individually.

i gotta speak up after that one. regardless of game experience - i will always thank the GM for running the game(pbp or f2f). I am going through a slow painful game of Fingers of Midnight, and Silbeg will easily second the slow pace - but i will still thank the GM for at least trying.

But i do agree with alot of the other points Deussu makes - especially in new players - irregular posts, subpar detail and lack of hooks are hard - but i also see this primarily in newbie pbp's. If I saw it in a longerterm pbp'er... i'd get really frustrated in it too.

Expanding on Part D... I really get frustrated with people who type of a great roleplayed diplomacy and roll diplomacy.. but i find out they intend to only get out of the conversation and then expecting to think twice later and probably go back on the stated statement.

I guess it's courtesy to thank the GM regardless of the outcome. Still, I rarely (as in never) see anyone giving tips or hints where they could have gone wrong.

That's a fair point i suppose - I don't have first hand experience outside the states - but i feel it would be considered rude to offer unsolicited advice - though i have seen GMs ask at the end - few and far between.

Oh don't get me wrong, it's hard to give critique face to face after a game (especially if the game went sour or was exhausting), and often players resort to making a post on the interwebs about it.

I too have been subtle about telling these players how their style of gaming doesn't match mine. In fact, I've rarely said anything about it. I too do it for the courtesy, wary of offending someone. That's the main reason I ask for critique myself.

There's actually a method for giving advice; start off with praise, continue to critique, then end your post with compliments. It works the best, so say the sociologists.

I guess it's courtesy to thank the GM regardless of the outcome. Still, I rarely (as in never) see anyone giving tips or hints where they could have gone wrong.

Oh, it's happened before... some of us like to try to improve the game and help players up their quality. :-)

http://paizo.com/campaigns/DMCrispysCurseOfTheCrimsonThrone8ulm/discussion& amp;page=10#453

Then again, I believe this "Zart" character was being played by an Australian.

Oh, it's happened before... some of us like to try to improve the game and help players up their quality. :-)

http://paizo.com/campaigns/DMCrispysCurseOfTheCrimsonThrone8ulm/discussion& amp;page=10#453

Interesting exit and better-than-I expected responses from the other players. Fascinating.

I ponder this and the rest of the above.

@Damo: Do you just type really fast, or where do you get all this time to write novels instead of regular posts? I recall you have children as well, aren't they occupying your time? Just curious, 's all.

@Deussu: Well, there are a few answers to that one.

Yes, I do type pretty damned fast. Because I don't work and I'm at home, I'm almost always on the computer. So... yeah, typing speed has something to do with it.

The second thing is, yes, I spend too much time posting. Mornings between 5 and 7, I'm awake (because my wife gets up then) and haven't got much else to do. I've been posting like crazy during those times. After that, looking after the kids and the house (except Monday and Wednesday when they're at school and it's all about the house & yard). My kids play pretty independently and that gives me some time to post, but with all the games I was playing and running, it got too much.

Hence this post earlier

I'm also trying to ramp back the size of my posts to give players a bit more of a chance to tell some story (and to save me some more time). I don't want to spoil the quality, and I'm finding that I still tend to the larger posts. It's a balancing act that I'm currently dropping the ball on. :-)

So my daughter is in second grade, and is in public school for the first time in her young life.

She has been learning about famous composers lately, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethovan, Gershwin, etc. Which is pretty awesome.

And so now I find myself fiddling with Hero Lab, reading threads, making posts, while listening to things like Night on Bald Mountain (Mossorgsky) and The Haunted Forest, In the Hall of the Mountain King, and found an old favorite I hadn't heard in years, Marche Slave which felt especially thematic and appropriate, both for the time of year, and for the Slave Master's Mirror game we are playing, though the oppression is slightly different in nature here.

Ok, random classical music fun over. Just wanted to mention that. The mood while perusing the boards is much more entertaining now... I recommend it!

I used to love Marche Slave... played it in concert band my senior year of high school... oh so long ago. A tough piece, but very good!

I actually bought multiple CDs containing classical music when I was around 25 and got my first car. I wonder what the by-standers thought about a young man wearing sunglasses, elbow out the window, and booming Tchaikovsky...

I actually bought multiple CDs containing classical music when I was around 25 and got my first car. I wonder what the by-standers thought about a young man wearing sunglasses, elbow out the window, and booming Tchaikovsky...

"Oh, those crazy Fins!" ?

Heya, Deussu, you gonna dot in for Glass River Rescue?

Looks like we're ready to start!

Oh sure, I had no idea it had started already.

Edit: Dotting in the discussion thread doesn't make it appear on the campaign tab. Annoying. I see I have a tendency to forget which games I've applied to.

One of our newbies had a great suggestion: dot onto the gameplay thread and delete the post. That'll make it appear.

You can also add threads to a "wish list" and that will show you when there are new posts, but you have to check that page as well as your campaign page. It's what I do for regular forum posts that I want to track.

Yes! I love the banter about the music.

@Deussu - I could totally see myself doing that. Pull up to a red light, windows down, blaring O Fortuna!

I played in the northern michigan "All-Star" symphonic band my senior year and among other things, we played music arranged for/inspired by the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night". I would find a link but I can't access You Tube from work.

[Puffs out chest, prepares to brag]

My senior year of high school I was a part of our high school symphonic band that performed on the stage of the famous Carnegie Hall in New York City. I knew my music career was all downhill after that.

[end self-centered bragging moment]

I won't pretend to be as cultured in classical music as I might like, but it is fun. And I love sharing what little I know with my daughter as she begins to learn about it in school. Of course, her attention span is so short that she doesn't always follow.

That is another thing I love about good movie scores. How to Train Your Dragon is a good one, there are several musical themes throughout that movie that represent different things. Hiccup and Toothless, Hiccup and Astrid, The Green Death (big bad dragon at the end), etc. It is fun to point out the different variations on those themes throughout the movie, because then she can put a visual with the music behind it.

Music is fun. :)

I have to admit my knowledge of classical music is very limited; I've never been that interested in it. I know the most famous composers by name, but if I were to put them on a timeline based on who lived when, whose music is baroque and whose renaissance, I'd be lost.

@Damo: Huh, these messageboards do work in an odd way. I've also begun to wonder why there aren't quick buttons for bold, incursive, and such tags. Those are super simple stuff.

Then again Paizo boasts with many other technical oddities that continue to baffle me. Similarly I'm wondering why on earth are old Living Greyhawk veterans so drawn to Yahoo groups. That platform was the worst of the worst.

Wow we are getting so cultured with the classical music and whiskey/bourbon talk. Learning so much about the world.

Before I forget... I will be in Minneapolis this weekend with Jack for his table 150. I'll try to post in the games I'm playing in, but won't be doing GM posts over that time. Enjoy the break and feel free to post without me. ;-)

Just to be forwarded, my posting volume will be down until Sunday night, after I drop Damien off. I'll be focusing on finishing Slave Masters Mirror, but will try to get caught up today and tomorrow.

Sorry this is a carry over of my discussion with Lockwood on the RoW thread.

We were talking about MAD (Multiple ability dependent) characters, and I forgot to include some resources so I'd thought I share here since we have a few more people here. I am sure that most/all of you know about these, but I thought I just post anyway.

Comprehenvise resource for multiple Pathfinder articles

Useful guide for MAD characters can be found towards the bottom of the above link. I used it a bit for my Gestalt character that did not get selected for a Wrath of the Righteous game which became Jorvik, and a SAD (single ability dependent) character that I made for another Wrath of the Righteous game which I didn't get selected for who is currently slogging it through a few scenarios to level up for True Dragons w/Jack in November.

Wow, really noticing the pattern of not making it into Wrath of the Righteous and creating fun characters.

Hope this passes the time while Jack and Damien check out for the 150th!

Should totally get a cake. A scotch flavored cake.

Bacon. That's the theme for the 150th. As befitting the purveyor of maple bacon bourbon.

Hope you guys have fun!

OMG John that list is awesome. I have seen many of these guides, but a centralized list? Niiiiiice.

I love the list of the skills to... So much stuff I hadn't seen before.

And not getting selected for your games was fate. If you were in to many games, you wouldn't have tried to get in our game. And you wouldn't be one of us. And that would be SAD. (Single Ability Depressed)

Game 148 and 149 are in the books (Slave masters and Returned to Sky). Now to start the prep for 150 (The Stranger Within - another Sam Polak scenario).

Damn is 10-11 tough to run!

As always thanks Jack.

So moving forward with PbP Gameday, Jyri is up next for the Technic Siege - right?

Then he and I alternate for the Heresy of Man Parts 1-3.

Since Pooka is free, Bob's beasts is ready anytime. I can have the Gameplay up by Monday. I know Damien and Steve are knee deep in GMing, Stephan are you and Chris (NotLockwood) still in?

I'm in 100% for Bob's Beasts. Can't wait to crack Xûll out again. I hope Delzden and Arthrax will join us, too!

John, we've got some cracker players in the Confirmations. Would you like us to ask some of the PFS veterans if they've got a level-appropriate character they'd like to play with? I'm sure they'd love to play more PbP!

For sure YES. 4 spots reserved for you all, then we can fill in as needed.

I'll make the thread this weekend, and dot in on your leisure.

Yeah, Technic Siege next up. But are we quite done with SMM yet?
I'll try to set up the opening post for TS over the weekend. It's pretty sandboxey scenario, and you'll have a bit of planning to do in the beginning. So no rush to finish the purchases or level-ups.

And have a fun con, don't drink too much whiskey!

BTW, what are Bob's beasts playing?

Forgot to mention the plan is 5-14 Day of the Demon, then the Mod Midnight Mirror.

SMM is all over but for one scene, which we should wrap up today.

All in on the Tecnhnic Siege! And the rest. Gunari will be slow tracking to get this all in.

And what subtier were you planning for Day of the Demon? I might be interested..

Nooo!!!! You fool, don't take up on any more games....
Oh, who said that?

I actually took Delzden to Glass River Rescue where at least Silbeg is playing. Day of the Demon will get Rravn.

I seriously have no control over what games I've promised to play. I need to keep a calendar or something...

And I don't have too many games going on at the same time, never. 1 GM game, 5 player games.

Is Rravn the character you were planning for Siege of the Serpents?

Ok.

So after some discussion with Damien - I have decided I am going to GM for this group!!! I am going to take on the ALTS.

You all already dotted into Damien's version of First steps, but I thought it might be easier to just start my own thread.

Please dot in with your Alt characters when you can! We won't be starting until I am finished with my Confirmation table.

Jyri the mod has tier 3-7 and subtier 6-7. Wacky.

Awesome Steve!

Is Rravn the character you were planning for Siege of the Serpents?

See what I mean? Yes, he was actually planned for that!

I do have Targath, though... I might've spoken about bringing him. He's at level 4. Then there's Devon and Dhastrach, both at lvl 7.

Just to try to keep things organized for everyone's (read: mine) sanity, I updated the current and pending scenarios tab in the scenario planner.

I am starting the ALTS in In Service to Lore, likely within a week or two (once my confirmation table is done) (and hopefully in time to qualify for PbP Gameday) Discussion - Gameplay

John is starting Day of the Demon for the BEASTS, sometime soon here, which will also be a PbP Gameday thread.

Jyri is going to start the Technic Seige for the Drongos, also sometime soon here, which will also be a PbP Gameday thread.

Damien is continuing to run Isle of Dread and Reign of Winter.

I think that is enough madness for now...

Oh, don't forget the Slayers still are waiting in Thornkeep!

So after some discussion with Damien - I have decided I am going to GM for this group!!! I am going to take on the ALTS.

Ugh... not this guy :)

Steve, so awesome that you're taking over to run the Alts. Can't wait to have you GM for us the 'OC'... plus AJ. ;-)

Silbeg... you don't want a break, mate? You've smashed it on the way to table 150. Either way, Arturo is ready. Just thought I'd offer a chance to rest.

I don't want to speak for John, but I'm pretty sure we were planning to do Day of the Demon at tier 3-4 (3-7 will be a typo, mate).

Okay all... I'm off for the rest of the day (got a few things to sort out for the weekend and I've pounded away at all of my games as much as I can this morning). Have a great time until Monday!

Take a break. Like you would take a break.

Actually, this feels like it will be a break. At least until Siege of Serpents starts up.

But, I probably won't start The Enigma Vaults up until I get back from San Fransisco (start up on Oct 31)

Remember when Aeslin used to post to the Aisle of Bread game? I used to look for her there.

/me sighs
/me remembers the good ol' days

Dotted papasteve. I'm assuming our frozen fingers gm won't dissappear for a week again..